"Really?" He couldn't disguise his surprise. She'd never been much for heels, but then her barefoot appeal turned him inside out more than any other woman in stilettos ever could.
"No, I don't." Her grin went downright wicked. "But I will by this weekend."
He let his growl of appreciation rumble up and out as finally he got to be near her again. "How much longer until we can be alone?"
"What color?"
"Color?"
"Heels." Just below his neck, she toyed with the tab on his uniform zipper. "Since I'm shopping you can put in your order. Red or black? What's your pleasure?"
"You." He canted closer, a whisper away from her lips glistening with a gloss he would have to kiss off soon. He ducked his head close to her ear to whisper, "And I very much want to be your pleasure once we're out on the ocean, away from the rest of the world, no heels, no clothes, no outside worries. I wish it was summer so I could love you on the deck, out in the open, kissing every inch of your body while the sun does the same."
Her hot, panting breaths puffed over him. "Close the door. Now. Five minutes. Nobody'll miss us."
His brain fogged with possibilities of what they could accomplish in five minutes.
"Scorch?" a bass voice echoed down the hall.
He hadn't even heard anyone approaching. Jesus, he was far gone. Carson jerked, kicking himself for being reckless with Nikki's reputation and glancing back over his shoulder to look at...
The father of the woman he was just propositioning.
Gulp. Carson braced. "Yes, sir?"
J.T. frowned, stayed silent.
Sir. Crap. Carson's hand fisted on the door. He, a major, had just called a chief master sergeant sir. Officers did not call enlisted troops sir.
But a man sure as hell said sir to the father of his girlfriend. So much for waiting for the perfect time to logically explain about his relationship with Nikki.
They were so...
So...
Busted.
Chapter 12
She was so busted.
Three hours later tucking her little brother into bed, Nikki knew the confrontation was coming, even if her father had pretended nothing was wrong at the time. A quick unspoken agreement had zipped between the two men as readable as any newspaper.
No scenes at the squadron. Not a surprise since she'd lived her life being told to wear her best face on base. Be a good reflection of her father. She knew the drill.>He had a way of finding a good quality in each person and relating to them on that level, rather than seeing the negative and judging. He excelled as a leader by giving everyone else a chance to succeed based on that strength, something she would do well to cultivate in her teaching.
The lumbering bus jerked to a halt on the tarmac, restless families standing, pouring down the steps. Rows of parked cargo planes loomed, waiting for their missing friends. Airmen lined up outside to escort the families and greet their returning squadron mates. Where was Carson? Somewhere in that crowd most certainly, since already in the distance, she could see the specks of approaching C-17s on the horizon.
Coming home.
Hugging her coat around her, she waited alongside the idling bus while people streamed out, her mom and brothers at the back of the line.
Kevin Avery peeled away from the other flyers in leather jackets and joined her. "Hey, Nikki. How's it going?"
She felt bad about the way she'd treated him back in "Anybody-But-Carson" dating days. He seemed like a nice guy, dedicated to his Air Force career. Thank goodness he was okay with being friends, and had even set her up with his buddy Gary.
Great. They all knew how that one had ended. "Everything's better. My dad's coming home and he's in one piece."
"Yeah, and I hear the investigators cleared you." He nodded, clean-cut hair, boots perfectly polished until they glinted in the afternoon sun. "That's good. I always knew it couldn't be you and I told Agent Reis the same."